Read The Fall 2025 Edition of Learning By Design

Cleveland, Ohio –October 13, 2025– Learning By Design has published the annual Fall 2025 Architecture and Interior Design Awards of Excellence. The October 2025 edition of Learning By Design is filled with knowledge-based stories and awarded new or renovated PK-12 and post-secondary campus environments that support contemporary pedagogical practice. Within, you will find a tribute to our friend and industry icon Jeanne Narum—a true trailblazer whose influence continues to ripple outward. You will hear the voices of the American Institute of Architects Committee on Architecture for Education and the Association of Learning Environments, calling us to purposeful planning. You will see new developments in workforce housing, and from the Association of University Interior Designers, an inspiring account of dignified space incubation to meet students’ most basic needs.

Each of these contributions reminds us that design is not about repeating what has been done before, but about listening, testing, and learning from the voices of students, faculty, and the communities who inhabit these places. Across the many articles, case studies, features, and award-winning exemplars in this edition, you will find innovative models and elevated standards—evidence that schools, universities, and institutions are not only providing shelter, but cultivating safe, welcoming, and sustainable environments for generations to come.

A distinguished panel of five architects and education facility professionals reviewed and debated the merits of all the awards submittals. Eight of the highest scoring submittals won top awards. These well-designed projects stood out for their novel design thinking, transparency, connectivity, safety, sustainability, great interiors, and sophistication. The jury awarded three Grand Prize Awards: One in the category of  “Under 100,000 Square Feet”, a second for its “Social Impact”, and a third for “Historical Repurpose”, three runners-up were designated with Citation of Excellence Awards, one sized over 100,000 square feet, a second for “Climate Action”, and a third for “Adaptive Reuse”.  Two Honor Awards were granted; one was recognized for being designed for “Research Exploration” and the second for “Adaptive Reuse”.

The selected three GRAND PRIZE AWARD winners  combined all the elements that make a learning environment successful

The three CITATIONS OF EXCELLENCE Award winners include: 

The two HONOR AWARD recipients are: 

• Stantec (Plano, Texas) for the Zen Den (Plano, TX) - Honor Award - Research Exploration 
   
• Cushing Terrell (Boise, Idaho) for the Bigfork Public Library (Bigfork, MT) - Honor Award - Adaptive Reuse

Thank you to the Fall 2025 Learning By Design Jury Members 

Read the entire October (Fall) edition of Learning By Design and to review 
the Fall 2025 Architecture and Interior Design Awards of Excellence 
(click image below)

or visit:  WWW.LEARNINGBYDESIGNMAGAZINE.COM